Zenzi -- a young place

The Time-out magazine `insight' on the place was a bit out-dated. So we three, the family, (going by the review) -- sat waiting for the tables to clear for the dance to start. But the dance was happening inside and we did hear the music vaguely out. So we must say we overate, just waiting, thanks to the Time-out mag's misleading review:) But the food was sooo delicious -- I loved the calamari best. My kid ate a lot of exotic stuff too -- but she does not like to share so I don't quite know how it all was. But that she licked her plate clean  -- which means it must have been good. She is fussy that way. Then the family shamelessly `washed' the whole thing down with a huge pile of French Fries. So gross, no?

Any case, Zenzi is a very young (This web site has NOT been updated since September!!).  No board outside and while we, non-Bandraites, asked about to locate it:) Meaning of Zenzi and how to pronounce it? Go here

Very few women, wonder why. Fast-moving crowd. Since the lounge bar was sooo cold we wanted to come out to the tables outside and managed to get one pretty fast. People stand about nursing drinks too. That sort of chilled out place. And quite a few pick-ups. A old, white woman with a gigolo beef-cake.  The reality show girls with a fellow with a lot of money, loose chest and belly and even more loose wallet with a white woman wanting a free India ride... Nice short clothes, taut legs, as far as women went. Why is that young Indian boys look so thin and without any body tone? My daughter has been cribbing for long that there are so few boys in her circle  who like to physical activity, be it dance, a good work-out at the gym or even games. Sooo boring. You can see evidence of such sloppy physical fitness at places like Zenzi. Only the young boys from abroad look like they are into any sort of physical activity.  My daughter looked archly at me and said, Mom, whom are you checking out. Hey, I told her, I am into this fitness business. (And I know for one, that our men simply hate working out. So it was my keen marketing eye that was trying to see if there was any potential here. No, there was not,  I concluded:)

Not surprisingly,  our boys don't even seem to have interesting women about them. The proportion man-to-woman was like ten to one here!! Maybe the girls crawl out later in the night. Even the dance floor the proportion was this low. DJ Amol was there. I did a Ranbir Kapoor act on the floor, but the music petered off, so we -- heavy with good food -- decided it was time to leave and go to bed. Yawn!!



Where and when?
12 pm – 3.30 pm (Sat, Sun only), 7 pm – 1 am
183, Waterfield Road,Near National College,
Bandra (W), Mumbai – 400 050price : 1000-2000

Gourmet City to shut down?

Bad news guys. It seems Mumbai is still not a gourmet city... because the Hypercity's gourmet counter is likely to shut down. It has def me to mourn for its demise. How sad... I used to love the food there, the quiet, the pricing and everything about it that teased my tongue... Now it is going to go and we will have to hunt around in Nature's Basket or Foodland for those yummy things we need that makes us feel like food aesthetes.

Btw. I suppose we really don't have food sensitivity in the city. The fact that most restaurants are not stocking the desserts u want (tiramisu, cheesecake) but keep safe options (ice cream- yeow!) shows that we are very mundane when it comes to food. A Japanese food specialist we met at Kelva told us that the Sushi stuff u get, or the wasabi ready-made stuff u get, made from China have been spiked a lot with spices which is not the way they are meant to be. They have a subtle flavoring that only the Japanese get right. However, subtlety and Mumbaikars?? Never the twain shall meet:( 

Lemon Grass restaurant

I am partial to people from the north-east because of Biki, my Muay Thai instructor. Very smiley, sweet people, child-like. This restaurant is full of them, to serve you, so already I am biased.

Jahnavi, my daughter, whose taste  is simple -- she likes Thai food, pizzas, French Fries, Mughlai and not always in this order -- and whose appetite is huge -- loved the food here. The starters we ordered were just so lovely -- and I must confess to something terrible, I cannot remember the names!! It was a few weeks back and I was confident that standing on my head as well as my pampered taste-buds will combine to help me recall the list of stuff we ordered. But there it is, I cannot remember anything except that  I enjoyed my food and we were giggling a lot and felt a bit sad that the place was so empty and the bamboos waving about added to the sense of isolation. . My kid licked her fingers. And we lliked the serving size. Plus they did not have the dessert I wanted (always happens only to me).  But the ambience was good (so quiet in that area), and of course, my smiley waiters. If you are partial to Thai and Chinese food then this is the place... Rates are reasonable. I liked the low mid section: but difficult to snuggle into that if you are wearing skirt or shorts:)

Lemon Grass Cafe

106, First Floor, Palm Spring Mall, Link Road, Malad West, Mumbai
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

28817444, 28817888
(Above Croma). 

Prithvi Irish coffee, a tradition

I went to Manoj Joshi's superb play Chanakya this Sunday. It was playing in south Mumbai and just when I was bemoaning the fact that things don't seem to move up north, to our forsaken suburbs (though we have recliner seats in cinema near home:)the play was announced in Prithvi. We booked online, such a smooth operation. And after years nearly, we went to Prithvi. Got the tickets also immediately, though I wondered how the delivery will happen. The last time I went, was a few years ago, to attend an experimental play and having foolishly ordered pasta and waiting eternally for it as the Q to enter the theater grew (No seat numbers in Prithvi, so this ancient, out-of-sync with modern times practice).
Any case, we managed to float in eventlessly, and were amused to see funny incidents of Mumbaikarbrazenness -- squeezing one extra person into somebody's lap, trooping in late and squeezing out the rest of early comers; and during loo break try to take over somebody's else seats (if that is possible, since there are no numbers). Sitting on the steps, though the usherers keep pleading to leave it for the actor's passage. And then, of course, the brazenness of letting your mobile ring loudly in this tiny theater, so poor Joshi had to restart the act.  But Mumbaikars are very game and such brazenness  is attempted because they don't mind that squeeze, that elbow, that jostling sense of being in a crowd, even to watch a classy play.

The Cafe: Like I said, the last time, a few years I was there, I had ordered a pasta plate for my ever-hungry, cribbing daughter and was still waiting as the Q grew. So that was an annoying experience.
This time we had a slightly more irritating experience, when the waiter boy (Nandu something, since I was irritated enough to ask his name) took the Rs 500 we gave, took down the order and said he will give change and items to our table... but when another waiter went to enquire, this boy was standing in front the guy at the counter who was saying no such order had been placed and he did not know anything about it (or some such nonsense which happens when we do these silly trusting things that should not be done at such public spots). Any case, my body language was aggressive as I wagged my hand at the boy who I recognised (and my husband, that trusting fellow who never takes receipts and always then sends me out to salvage the situation, did not remember his face)... (If anybody at Prithvi is reading it and wants to contact me, u may email me at sama_yama@yahoo.co.in and next time I come I will point the boy out to you)... Any case, he readily handed over the change, despite having acted as if he knew nothing of the altercation happening.. Irritating...

Any case, the irish coffee at Prithvi is a Mumbai tradition by now! I have always had it.  This time I pigged on a blueberry cheesecake (which just last week I attempted at potpourrie too). The latter is more grainy, and I always vote for that texture. The Prithvi one is smoother.. and quite delicious in its own right. Lovely.

The heavy-duty stuff was not available -- pasta, eggs  and such items because the menu is apparently going through an overhaul. But otherwise, despite the old chairs that have not been changed since I saw them years ago, despite the sense of something patchy and tatty at Prithvi, it still rocks. And is a nice place to hang out with friends, if you get a seat:)

The play was superb. And is running housefull:) Thank god the city has it culture spots still...

Contact details? Log in here...

Machaan, why I like this restaurant

First time we went to Machan, we were ordering a la carte. But the waiter insisted on giving us lots of stuff from the buffet table as well: pakodas, finger foods. It felt royal:)

Next time again, we went we had a great time. The place is dimly lit, has a jungle motif and a softly rustling waterfall. But that is not why we go there. The food is truly excellent. The price reasonable.

This time we ordered some non-veg and vegetarian stuff. The food is non-greasy. Done just right. Tastes yummy. Options for regular and large are offered. I loved the Pattewali roti, with leaf pressed into rotis, while the malpua (with sugar syrup and crispy) and rabdi to pour over it/dip into as dessert was truly sinful. The appetizers are really non-greasy -- and that, in my opinion, is truly artful. The green vegetable patties (sorry, I forget the name) was cooked on tawa and was filled with nuts yet retained its shape and texture. For me, food is so much about texture. And while I must say the recession means some restaurants cut out the stylistic stuff like tasty mukhwas, here we got some amazing sweet mouth freshener that I kept popping in my mouth. Tandoori Table in Kandilvi east used to have a mint-flavored til-ka mukhwa that has now disappeared. But I loved that Machan is not cutting out such stuff.

Actually if you want to go budget you should try their Buffet: About Rs 399/ taxes. It is a gourmet spread man!

Address:

Palm Spring Bldg
Unit No 812, 8th Floor, Kanchpadha
Malad (W), Mumbai

Phone 28818844, 32687147, 28806668

Ayyappan Tiffin Center: Madras food in Mumbai

Told u, was at Matunga -- generally to get a Chennai-feel, since my kid is there now:)
And at the Ayyappan Tiffin Center, at Telang Road, at Sankara Matam, had quite a feel of it, with all those South-Indian snacks. With some strange Mumbai concoctions: Pizza dosa (yuck!), Pickle dosa (tickles that tongue), and the usual suspects like Paneer dosa. But when you are nostalgic you don't want to experiment and settle for that simple good old food that your mother made and at which you turned your nose.. Can U imagine? Sometimes when I salivate over the stuff which I rejected as a kid, I wonder what perverse twist of fate makes me yearn for it now? My kid does/did the same thing with me. Karmic backlash. I tell her too:)

So yes, Pongal with sambar dripping over it, and some coconut chutney. My husband has his fav vada -- that lentil variation which you do not get anywhere except in a pure South Indian spot (another snacks joint that serves that up is the Dosa counter at the food court of Inorbit). I became greedy,and overordered (the excuses of pining women worldwide) and ordered an unending Ayyappan Special dosa which was filled with all sorts of spicy things and which made me feel very bloated... Avoidable experience -- though the dosa may be shared by four sparse eaters.

Palak dosa too! Though I mercifully resisted the urge for that one.

The center also caters apparently.

• A cute appeal: To park the vehicles elsewhere before coming over to eat here!
• The waiters, at this roadside stall, have their own uniform (See image!!).
• We managed to overeat, two of us, at Rs 60 for both. If you ate wisely (which I did not) you can finish a good meal for half that price!

Roadside food - I missed that at Chennai definitely though they have their stalls all over the place which seem, at the outset, to be male-dominated. Chennai-in-Mumbai is my style really:)

Matunga: eating out Chennai style, Chennai price:)

This weekend, the drown the maternal pining I felt at having left the kid at the boarding, I trekked off to Matunga (which is so like Chennai where the kid is now) to buy her things which she does not need. (After I fondly bought them, I got a very firm, irritated message from her saying that I must not courier her any more stuff:) And to perk up the flagging spirit had chai off the Shree Ayyappan Tiffin Center, at Telang Road, outside Sankara Matam. The tea stall had boards that said, Praise the Lord.

I saw the price first and thought a tea for Rs 51(in Mumbai, off the road, even that seems reasonable because each one has a pricing and we all know these poor fellows have to grease palms to stay put on their encroached territory). So I thought Rs 51 was fine. My husband pointed out that the double-digit that I had mistaken for was actually a stroke, after a single-digit. Meaning Tea for Rs 5!! I had a full tea, I could not finish (I had just then overeaten at the Ayyappan stall (overeating under the guise of sorrow, shameless). And my husband had soemthing special for which he always palpitates: filter coffee!! Original. His thirst and longing was well asssauged. I, feeling bloated, but pleased at having made a reasonable meal at such low rates that was also topped off with a Full Tea, sauntered off. Matunga feels like Chennai. Even the crowds. Not all are Chennaites here. But even in Chennai, that is so, it is pretty pan-Indian that way despite impressions to the contrary...
Here you also get bournvita and boost!! Horlicks, hugely favored in Chennai as a health drink, and for convalescents...
Matunga you get hot food, Chennai style, with Mumbai innovations .... pizza dosa, pickle dosa but will save that up for tomorrow -- when I will go further on that amazing Ayyappan stall...

Japan in Mumbai: sushi makes perfect sense to me

It is a nice combo: elegant Japanese food and elegant Gourmet city restaurant. I had been drooling over that for the last one week and finally gathered the family to the spot this Sunday. I starved, refused to allow my kid her addictive trek to Food Court at InOrbit, and gave my husband just two dosas for breakfast so that we were all, from gut onwards, prepared for the visit.

I have, in the manner of the uninitiated, never tried Japanese food and always believed, in the manner of those illiterate in such sophisticated stuff, it to be bland. One tiny, green demonic wasabi at the Gourmet City changed my opinion for ever and ever. It was potent, hit the underside of my nose with a wham that would not be soothed by chilled water and was it hot??!! Not spicy as much as tart, and I later found, it is made with horse radish.. What a kick that little ball of green has!!!
We did some Sushi... the boys tried Crab/ Prawn/ Chicken and there was also cucumber and asparagus cream ones. Neat, within a reasonable price range. Since I am broke these days, and I was footing the bill, we scrimped a bit, and had just sushi and main course -- Japanese curry and rice...
And four of us ate satisfactorily for under Rs 1000 which was great price for a new and perfect experience. The Chef was sweet and even gave us some more sushi -- and my daughter did the unthinkable and remove the cucumber piece before popping hers in the mouth....
The Japanese food festival was held by maidoindia -- who deal with Japanese food products. The chef was telling us about a curry packet, where a cube would yield the half-liter curry... and thick and spicy. They also hold quite a few events, like cooking classes, Sake festival etc. Check out their range and events at their site. Also, if you wish to be kept informed of these food festivals at Gourmet city, you can ask to be on their mailing list: GC_InorbitSM@hypercityindia.com

Happy eating:)

Old world ice-cream parlour: K. Rustomji

(K. Rustomji Ice Cream parlour at Churchgate obviously does not need a board)

My daughter was not impressed with that ice-crea or the smoky, non-a/c parlour. Especially, because those biscuit slivers did not quite hold that creamy slab and dripped over her cute white dress. But then she is a suburban Mumbaikar, born in the suburbs for whom the southern tip is not an aspirational hang-up as it is for her migrant parents:) She looks down on south Mumbai as a rule -- the lack of space, the crush of people and traffic even though most times she has been protectively taken there only on Sundays. She sees only tourists and does not know what makes that part of city throb with a life all its own. You have to be an awed-out-of-Mumbai migrant for that perspective...
Any case, K. Rustomji ice-cream was where my husband, then my fiance, had taken me when he was showing off this city to me a quarter century ago. Like most men, he associates love with good food, so most joints we went to in our courting days where food joints, the must-eat Mumbai joints, iconic though a bit people-worn and down-at-mouth even those days... K. Rustomji also looks a bit sad...
No board, but there is a huge and steady crowd, including of tourists who have been lovingly directed here by some Mumbai-freak...
The ice-cream, big slabs, are so low-priced.
The plastic chairs, the reluctantly given paper napkins, the grimy dust-bin, the not-so-cool fans, the sense of something decrepit... Yet, those some fabulous mixes and flavors. Mint, for instance? I had peaches, my husband had mango, my kid toffee. We paid Rs 120 for three, can u imagine? And juices, for Rs 15 each? In this day and age!

Next time we go to south Mumbai, we must do Rustomji's again, my husband decided. My kid arched her eyebrows... Different strokes:)
. We oldies, we like it that in a world of gelatos and international brands, an old ice-cream parlour is holding its own...

Contact details:
		+(91)-(22)-22821768
		87 Stadium House, Opp Ambassador Hotel, Veer Nariman Road, Churchgate, Mumbai - 400020

Visiting Leopold Cafe

(A painting by Indian artists on the terrorist attack, on one of the walls of Leopold cafe where terrorists had killed several)

We were back at Colaba. It is always my favorite haunt. Everybody here minds their own business largely and the terrorist attack has not dented that Mumbai-spirit that this particular part of town sports so proudly.

We were at Leopold Cafe this Sunday afternoon. Those of you not from this city may not remember, but the terrorists had shot down many here on that terrible night...

After the terrorist attack
We had, my husband and I, hardcore Mumbaikars who love this city with the passion of migrants for whom Mumbai has meant freedom from so many things -- we had been at Colaba the Sunday after the terrible attack too. Journalists who were not from the city (both Sai and I started our journalistic career on the streets of Mumbai) made silly sounds about terrorism tourism and stuff like that about those of us who went out. We went out to tell those who listened to such things and those who don't, loud and clear, that we as a city will not be cowed down... And that Sunday it seemed as if the whole city was there -- saying the same thing ...
Leopold cafe still has the bullet marks -- big ones. Overwhelmed tourists come. Waiters understand and appreciate their interest and point out the marks. One hidden under a picture is also shown from where it is not visible. Around the bullet marks, huge and gaping, are age old smoke-dust tinted posters from the 60s : posters of a grinning Elvis and others from his Era, punctuated by Parsi symbols. That Sunday after the attack when the owners announced that they were reopening it, there was a virtual stampede, with media and onlookers creating a tremendous crush. We looked at that from a distance, deeply moved at how this city will never cow down to anything...

Cafes and their souvenirs:
Like Cafe Mondegar which has its T-shirts (hey, you have not done Mumbai if you have not been to either of these joints -- both have been tourist draw for generations of tourists with Mondegar having Mario Miranda cartoons on the walls and a juke box ) as souvenirs (had blogged on it earlier), Leopold has its own souvenir T-shirt. Unlike Mondegar's which has famous cartoonist Mario Miranda's tippling Salaam Mumbai cartoon (see the sidebar for a frame) and other one-liners that will go straight to a tippler's heart, this one proudly black just says `Leopold ...

Food here:
At Mondegar's we had some divine onion rings and fluffy cheesy garlic bread. At Leopold we just sat and nibbled some finger food and guzzled some beer. But what is about Indian omlettes, even double omelettes, that they come so flat and stringy and rubbery...
But then, who cares, it is the spirit that counts:)

Tezz: an alternative to Falafel

At In Orbit food court ( I prefer this to the PVR one, though finding a place to sit during peak hour can be the very hell for a `gentle' yoga teacher) we discovered happily that there was an alternative to Falafel (the Lebanese food chain in the city). While the staff, new to the chaos and lack of Q-etiquette amongs us Indians and Mumbaikars in particular) were a bit slow, the menu sort of made up for it. It offers non-veg, which though I do not myself eat, is still good for those who believe in Lebanese food being what it is -- the kebab speciality...
The shawarma meat loaf hanging reminded me of Germany where the only Indian type of food could be got at the small Lebanese or Pakistani joints...
The hummus also had a gritty, grainy flavor, different from the one I often pack up from Falafel. I liked the one here too...Here is a list of items available at Tezz: onion rings, veg-chicken shawarma, seafood kebabs, moutabal or hummus, flafel... For some reason there was also a lot of Mexican food available -- nachos of various hues and flavors.
They have not given a phone number on their pamphlet, so I don't think they will deliver on demand. That keeps them one step behind Falafel, which delivers all over the city...
Happy eating:)

Restaurant decorum

Aw, my camera missed the crucial parts of this menu card exhortations. What u see above is a list of do's and dont's on the back of a menu card. Some interesting rules are below:
* Not to hang on after receiving bill.
* To wait for food, since good food takes time to cook.
* Not to read paper or do paper work here. (Not your regular coffee shop).
* Left-over food will not be packed..

The last one was a bit unfair I thought... the rest of the stuff rather innovative and clearly comes after some bad experiences the restaurant owner has had, with people refusing to budge before finishing their morning paper (maybe reading it into the night:) or people who hang on after just ordering a cup of coffee... and even after the bill has been placed deliberately on his table:)

Imagine this from a restaurant owner whose establishment is encroaching all over the pavement (in this city, where else?). Who has erected some structures, including concrete ones on pavement that belongs to you and I. And who clearly is paying all the concerned authorities some huge sums, to do what he will. Even he has a sense of right and wrong. I wonder when our administration will follow suit and acquire some sense of similar decorum ... I simply cannot understand why they don't legalise encroachments in certain areas -- so that at least the money clearly being pocketed by all the `authorities' goes into the government coffers. This way, it feels so much like goondaraj...Not evidence of good governance but the starting point for criminality ... And then, even goondas will start making rules...

Cafe coffee day: wake up call:)

(The image of the Carter Road cafe is from this site)

Say I earn a piddling small amount for a class.. What do I do with it? I splurge it at this coffee shop. Do I love it that much? Actually I do it because I like to take on Bandra classes and when waiting between two classes, since mostly I have no place to go, I go here and sip on a large Ethiopian coffee... It is a good sip, satisfying.

What I love about this spot?

• Great view, far enough to miss those fellows defecating along the seashore and far enough to make pretend that this coastline is divine.
• I love it that it is no-hassles spot where a woman can be alone and not get stared at as if she is a pick-up... In India that is so sick, with most men simply unused to the idea of women hanging out on their own. And woe betide that sad woman who is also a yoga instructor with muscled arms (like I), with a boho look (again, like I, with gemstone bracelets, strappy tops, and weird jute bags) that for some strange reason seems to, in the deep recesses of suppressed Indian male psyche, flash come-hither signals. So, here, at this coffee shop that is not such a bother, I am allowed to sip my coffee without having to look over my shoulder.
  

Though the variety is good, I stick to my Ethiopian because it is big and allows me enough sips over an hour or so. Occasionally, I have my laptop with me and typing out my pending columns.

What I do not like about it?

• Non-functional loo or barred loo -- always it is not to be used, mostly, no water supply is the excuse. Waaah!
• No breakfast... what sort of a coffee shop is that that does not even have a sandwich for sad sacks like me?
  
• Often, unbelievably, I am told the shop (though buzzing with shop boys inside) is NOT open because there is no Water Supply. Earlier, I used to think I was being turned away for my boho look, yoga mat and muscles et al making the boys nervous! I mean after my yoga class off Carter Road, around 8.40 am when I walk in to wait, I am told this. A coffee shop that does not function by eight thirty on a Saturday morning?? Give me a break...

But I still go there and hang out...

Vada Pav, Jumbo King and why Mumbai malls don't sell it

(This image of a perfect vada pav, with a sprinkling of garlic chutney between two soft bread pieces, is from this site)

The other day I had the best vada pav (it is a traditional Maharashtrian favorite, a mashed potato fried in lentil batter, and eaten between two pieces of bread with a dash of some tongue-on-fire hot garlic chutney, or green chutney or both:) in a long long while. It was at the corner off Mahim Station, towards the Mahalaxmi Engineering Estate, on L.J. First Cross Road. It was being prepared by a housewife in a corner, with her utensils and stuff, and fried on the spot. So, its taste was extra-special. A touch of the garlic chutney and huge hunger made this a very special vada pav.

I have had some at Jumbo King: while they have the usual unusual mix-match to tweak Mumbaikar's obsessive need to experiment (including with food), I always stick to the traditional, old-fashioned vada pav ...Rs 10, so I won't crib. Just ok, is my verdict. This was at the outlet near my home, in Thakur village. Btw some of the combos they offer are really a bit `eeks'.

The other day, at Borivli's S.V. Road, where it curves into a flyover, at a Zunka Bakar stall I tried a vada pav -- he did not heat it, so my husband rejected it outright. What is a cold vada pav? Totally off-putting. But I bit into it. It was ok, despite my immense hunger and greater craving for comfort food. Somewhat flat. So, remember not all vada pavs are made equal.

BTW. DO YOU KNOW THAT JUMBO KINGS ARE not there in any malls in Mumbai? Because vada pav is too low-brow for them? Or maybe even low-priced? I wonder why local politicians have not made an issue of that...I would love to eat vada pavs in the mall, in the theaters and hopefully reasonably priced (how would a five-star vada pav taste?).. Perhaps it is not the mall rejecting them, but that the vada pav sellers find it difficult to hike the price of this humble food item to meet the malls's OTT rental costs. Either way, the loss is ours....

I read on a Sify link now that the Shiv Sena had launched a Shiv Vada Pav last year, after holding a vada pav competition and a vada pav conference . Oh wow!! How fantastic.... And that this Shiv Vada Pav was to be touted as a global phenomenon.

Yes, I also think making food is better than making war. And eating it is even better:) Especially if it is a hot vada pav with some aha-hoo garlic chutney:)

Momos in Mumbai

The first time I had Momos was at Kavita Mukhi (the unconventional, torchbearing nutritionist-entrepreneur)'s shop which was selling her goodies. I loved it then. The right amount of rice (without which South Indians wilt) and those spicy stuffings from which you try to pick flavors and find out which of the ingredients is now turning you on. After that, with a huge gap, I had it recently at Goa... at the little Tibetan shack off Calungute beach. Lovely. But then, found this outlet at InOrbit and celebrated by buying one full plate and shamelessly eating it all by myself, without sharing with anyone from my family. Rs 30 for the veg plate... It was so Wow!

Candies: sweet place

(Candies entrance, dreamily green; don't miss the rush of school kids:)
(The beautiful Buddha statue at the entrance)
(Veg puffs, and two coffees, for Rs 160. And don't miss those sweet sugary what-dya-call-them-thingies on the left:)
After a vigorous kick-boxing session, the one thing u crave for is some hot liquid... Strangely, hunger just disappears and I sometimes do not even think of eating evening food. So, earlier I used to take my lap-top, punch my pending columns and dreamily look over the haze of pollution the Bay of Bengal, off Carter Road's Cafe Day. And spend quite a packet of my hard-earned money on continuous cups of coffee which steamed but seemed cold by the time the lips made contact with the cup; or occasionally buy the cookie box (with free espresso offer) that nobody ate at home. And swat flies, which sort of stuck to you wetly. And shoo off crows that eyed your cookie box hungrily. But last week I discovered this amazing place called Candies, off Pali Hill. It is a must-visit place. It has very good, clean energy. With a Thai golden Buddha Statue looking benignly at the world, and especially at all those who enter Candies, that energy is a given:) I found school kids just love it, they were everywhere and that is understandable, why: the price is affordable (soup for Rs 30, veg puff for Rs 30, quiche for Rs 50). Food portions are nice, bite-sized, so you can eat more of many... My fav sort of eating.. And what I love about it is the space inside is so green, lively. The decor is good. It feels clean, spanking. And what I most loved, is that tiny flourish of courtesy, in those tiny sweet-bits that come on your plate: sometimes a soft chocolate, but always something sugary and sweet...
There is a salad bar too, yummy. I love salads though though for that you really need to be hungry. As I said, I am never hungry to eat food after exercise (My prana or chi must be indeed rising:)

Where is Candies?

(Off Gold Gym).

St. Andrews Road
Bandra West
Mumbai-400050
Landmark: Near Pali Naka
Phone: 022-26432425

Colaba calls

Sigh! I have been having the Colaba-itch. Completely keeping off South Mumbai since I shifted to back-of -beyond Kandivli, I have not been visiting it as often as I did, while working at Nariman Point and earlier at VT. Unlike Fashion Street and Linking Road and even Hill Road, which have largely metamorphosing into some sort of a low brow stuff (largely), Colaba has managed to retain its exoticism and exclusivity (in terms of what you get on its streets, I mean). So, since visiting it after the terror attack, I have lately begun to re-experience the Colaba craving. Never mind that Mcdonald there has no toilet, no seating place and the only toilet, shared by other shopkeepers is too seedy, soiled to be worth more than a line here. I feel most uncomfortable in this Mcdonald due to its pace, some sort of rest less energy that stampedes my enjoyment of the French Fries.
I love Colaba, never mind that is is full of pimps who keep propositioning to my husband, despite my domineering presence. Never mind the drug dealers hovering around, thinking my fair-skinned husband and daughter to be foreigners in search of a joint!! Since I look and talk and walk like a local I have never been subjected to this seedy attention. Last time, when my husband decided to walk his talk and took a national flag along the path covering those spots hit by the terror attack -- because it outraged him that some cowardly twerps from elsewhere exploited the openness of this city and used it just to vandalise its soul -- from VT onwards to Oberoi, , I walked beside him, to take off some of the attention he was drawing with his serious look and his huge flag:) I think he was also making some point about how a Muslim (I) and a Hindu (Him) could live together in peace, and love. But since I am embarrassed by such outward shows, I felt that having done my wifely duty I could leave him at some point, where his friends joined him. So, I shrugged him off at Churchgate (his friends joined him there) and moved to Colaba for some gemstone windowshopping. Had a blast. Till I tried to call my husband and his phone kept ringing and ringing. Standing off Cafe Mondegar I felt a bit lost, and felt stared at, in a strange way that can happen at such places, by people on the look-out for such things. Colaba is that sort of place: one time, safe. Other time, something creepy can crawl out.

Any case, this blog is about the Mario Miranda T-shirt I picked up at Mondegar, for around Rs 210. It is the Salaam Mumbai visual (see my side-bar), that typifies Miranda and Mumbai. I love it, though have not yet worn it. It has a nice line about beer and cheer. Yes, Mondegar is that sort of place. Nice food, limited menu but wholesome. Beer and some old music. You know what I mean:)

The low-cost gourmet restaurant

Almost accidentally we walked into the Gourmet city restaurant. What a place to eat good food!! (It is inside In Orbit, first floor, off the home furnishing section of it). For one, it is quiet, far from the bustle, I-will-elbow-you-out-of-your-table buzz that hustles the Food Court in In Orbit. It is empty, because sadly except regulars to the gourmet shop (which most middle class types avoid for obvious reasons -- high end stuff, recession and all that) nobody probably knows of it.

I ordered a ravioli (Rs 100 only!!) with mushroom sauce (etc Rs 100, but divinely worth it) and my husband some pasta and we drooled. And I had a cactus tea infusion and he a genuine filter Capi and we drooled some more. It is has a great menu, covers a nice palate range, including Thai food, aloe vera punch, terrific shakes, etc. Am going to be visiting the place soon. Prices are very reasonable. Chefs look like they know their stuff. Food tastes pure, hot and really tasty. The tea came with a perfect tea-timer -- and I loved that nice little touch about it....
Off it, at counters around you get gourmet stuff from abroad -chocolates, cheeses, teas (I picked up a huge bundle -- from sweet rose, to mulethi to orange etc and lots of fusions:) -- I skirted the other sections. But my subconscious clock is ticking -- waiting for the moment when I am going to be back!

Where is this Gourmet Restaurant?

Inside In Orbit's Home Stop. Link Road. You cannot miss it!

Welcome to some south Indian food..

Mid-day had done a favorable food review of this restaurant. So favorable that my husband, from Cauvery's own shores, had been slurping about a visit since the weekend. The wait was worth it. Kutty's is genuine South Indian khanna, with a mix and match from Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Different flavors of rice: next time I am going to order that ghee rice with aromatic herbs...we had a tangy rasam and though I was just going to dip into it, my kid stole it from right under my nose and finished it off. Iddiyam with potato stew. My husband had sambar rice with avial. Different vadas(kheera or greens), even idlis -- some chettinad cuisine too, and coconuty kerala stews and olan... Nice prices too. And as I tell all, the worth of any restaurant can be judged by two things: one, of course, the food. Two, how well its loo is maintained. They rank Excellent on both fronts:)

One of the waiters from good, clean south felt a bit inhibited that the restaurant was surrounded by slums we did not tell him the TV stars live where he was pointing:) This is Mumbai man!! It is on Link Road... visit it if you like subtle flavors, clean food, smiley waiters, affordable menu, food on banana leaf, payasam as dessert, bamboo-wood Kerala decor -- it will work its magic on you...

Address and contact details:
266/2125 Motilal Nagar, No 1, Link Road, Goregaon West Mumbai 62
Phone Numbers: 65282645/28712089 /2059
www.Kuttys.net.in